A high-spirited rivalry drives two Commerce High School teammates on the boys’ track and field team.
D Ramsey is the elder, a junior with his mind fixed on state records. His personal bests are three feet off of each record in the triple and long jumps. To him, that means those records are within his reach.
“I’m after a state record, my jumps are pretty close,” Ramsey said, nodding at his own personal bests of 22-feet in the long and 42-feet in the triple jumps.
Jamir Walton, a sophomore, has his mind affixed to Ramsey, first, his closest competitor day in and day out. Ramsey is also the jumper with whom Walton most often battles during the regular season meets.
One thing both jumpers know about Walton is this: He does not like to lose.
“I don’t like losing at all,” said Walton, whose own bests include 20-feet-8 inches in the long and 42-feet-4-inches in the triple jumps. “So to see one of my teammates doing better than I am makes me work harder.”
Their coaches recognize the productive relationship, one that is expected to strike a winning chord for Commerce at the Region 8-A meet April 19-21 at Athens Academy.
This has been especially true as the Tigers’ other leading jumper, Ramsey’s brother Terrick, suffered an injury earlier in the season. It is more common than not that D Ramsey and Walton finish one-two at area meets in the two field events.
Ramsey holds a slight advantage in the number of firsts. He admits to performing better at meets than at practice, where his younger foe excels.
Knowing what he is capable of, Walton is pushing himself for a long jump that exceeds his competition best of 19-feet-7-inches.
Yet he counts his triple jump as his strongest event, one in which he could advance to state competition.
Both athletes joined the track and field rosters in middle school, where Walton recalls being the fastest in his class yet slower on the track as a sixth grader up against seventh and eighth graders.
“I remember my feelings were hurt when I started losing, that made me work harder,” Walton said, smiling. “I’ve never liked to lose.”
Ramsey knows this and verbally spars with his friend a bit when he betters him in any event.
“If I bet him, he’ll get upset and go out on his own,” Ramsey said, shrugging. That’s just part of the sport, they agree. “Yeah, Jamir pushes me.”
There will be a downsizing of the team following Wednesday’s last regular-season meet. Just two competitors and relay teams from any one school can compete in any event, beginning with the region meet.
Coaches are eyeing the strong jumping unit as yielding a number of Tiger qualifiers in the GHSA’s first sectional round. The top eight individuals will move on to the state meet from that competition, which is scheduled April 28 at the University of Georgia.
The ones who have a shot already sense it.
“We have speed as a team, but out of the whole thing, we have people who are better at jumping,” Ramsey said. “I’m excited about the sectionals.”
